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Thursday, May 13, 2010

Warvictims - Domedagen review

"I don’t get a lot of time or opportunities to listen to music that isn’t extreme metal. I’m no expert at ‘punk’ music, either. (I hate using ‘labels’ too, by the way). I spend most my time listening to extreme metal, so hearing this ultra-violent and streetwise release from Sweden’s Warvictims, ‘Domedagen’, was a welcome variation. As you may expect, if you are familiar with ‘D-Beat’, ‘Domedagen’ doesn’t explore any new frontiers, it just kicks your ass in under 23 minutes without wasting time with melody or feel changes. If you have heard Discharge then you know the drill.

It is funny how music this extreme gets overlooked by so many in the metal community. How many ‘metal’ bands draw influence from this style of music? Think about it…the descendants of Philthy Phil alone are countless! Sure, you may enjoy the Misfits or Dead Kennedys but those guys are candy-asses compared to Warvictims.

There are assorted guitar solos that basically go nowhere other than into another killer riff while the vocals attack without rest. Most songs are under a minute long and contain anti-war-related subject matter. Like I said before, this one breaks ribs, not musical boundaries.

The production of ‘Domedagen’ is decent enough to be intelligible and still raw and crusty enough to harness the aggressive sound that Warvictims is known for. While not nearly noisy enough to be considered ‘bestial’, there is a similar attitude present on ‘Domedagen’ that can only be expressed with a less-than-perfect record production.

25 minutes later, I give it another listen. So in an hour, I have heard enough for a day or so. I’ll listen again and soon. This is one of those bands that you play for a friend or two because you know they haven’t heard it and it is heavier than whatever bullshit they are currently listening to."